The Onteora School District finally completed its sale of the former West Hurley Elementary School to a Brooklyn developer that wants to turn it into housing, five years after the Planning Board approved the deal and 30 percent short of the initial price.
Cedar East Development sealed the $800,000 deal with the district on Feb. 6, according to Onteora Superintendent Victoria McLaren and a copy of the “Agreement to Close” posted on the district’s website. Yet the district also agreed to cut the developer a $250,000 check because the former school lacked a proper wastewater discharge system, McLaren said.
The developer, who didn’t respond to a voicemail and email seeking comment, will use the additional funds to cover half the cost of installing a system mandated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, McLaren said.
“They went to change the permit over and an issue was raised,” McLaren said.
The sale ends years of legal maneuvering and opposition from neighbors, and could mark a step toward easing Ulster County’s housing crisis. Cedar East plans to convert the two-building property into 46 one-bedroom apartments.
“We are really glad this property is going to provide housing for our community and go back on the tax rolls and lessen the burden on our taxpayers,” McLaren said. “This has been a very long road to get to this closing, but it has come to a conclusion and we are very glad there will be positive outcomes.”
The 13,406-square-foot Ryan Building was completed 1936 as a two-room schoolhouse and expanded in 1954 and 1957, closing in 2002, while the Levins Building was shuttered in 2004, 40 years after it was built.
It wasn’t unusual for the planning board to grant permission to build condominiums or apartments in 2021, even though the sale hadn’t been completed, said Hurley Planning Clerk Maggie Colan. In this case, the sale was under contract, she said.
While the cost of the new apartments hasn’t yet been made public, any new housing will be welcome to a Hudson Valley municipality where rents have surged in recent years. Average rents in West Hurley have reached $3,500 per month, 75 percent more than the national average, according to Zillow.
Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher said last year that emergency shelter costs more than tripled to $13.3 million in 2024 from 2020 as the number of nights spent in such facilities ballooned to about 130,000 at $102.86 from 52,000 nights at $73.65.
“Ulster County is in the midst of a deepening housing crisis, and these numbers are stark,” Gallagher said at the time.
In November, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the completion of an $87 million affordable and supportive housing development in Kingston.
John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.